by John Grant, Hamilton
If you are irrigating your land more than 50 feet from your house to grow ANYTHING that is not being eaten (mowed/harvested) for or by LIVESTOCK, or grown for HUMAN CONSUMPTION, please STOP. You are contributing to the historic low flows in the tributaries of the Bitterroot.
To see acres of ornamental “lawn,” fertilized, irrigated and mowed in a relentless cycle because it’s “pretty”? Like Beverly Hills pretty?
The transition from flood irrigation to sprinklers for agriculture, while understandable, in some respects, has resulted in a significant, un-calculated evaporative loss that has diminished groundwater recharge to in-stream flows; a “desirable inefficiency” of flood irrigation.
Please think to replicate the native landscape that drew you here in the first place. Consult with a University Extension or native landscape specialists to achieve a Xeriscape plan suitable to the (increasingly) arid climate of the northern Rockies.
If you do not know the history of the Oglala, please learn it. We are on a trajectory to repeat a glaring error in human “endeavor.” Achieving faux pretty of an altered landscape is no excuse.
John Grant says
Good to connect the dots Mr. Lee. Absolutely, your comment is “the same conversation”. The mistake is in not doing so Mr. Miller.
Clark P Lee says
Establishing a sustainable septage disposal for the county would be good too.
establis
Mike Miller says
It’s a completely different subject. Try to stay with the conversation.
Linda Schmitt says
We have come to appreciate our “golden fields.”